Horizon 2020

Another 27 excellent FET-Open proposals for research on future disruptive technologies invited to Grant Agreement preparation

Tuesday, 20 February, 2018

Examples of the highly ambitious targets ahead of the successful FET-Open proposals include a super-resolution microscope in a microfluidic chip smaller than a coin, a novel GPS-free positioning technology, the non-invasive imaging of biochemical processes in the human body, and building a 3D muscle on a chip.

27 succesful projects have been selected from the 395 applications submitted to the last FET-Open Research and Innovation Actions call. The 27 champions will be offered a grant.

The call was the third and the last under the Work Programme 2016-2017, bringing the number of ongoing Horizon 2020 FET-Open Research and Innovation Actions to 123, funded with about EUR 400 million by the EU

The EU will invest between 2018 and 2020 a budget of EUR 647.5 million in around 200 ambitious high-risk / high-impact interdisciplinary research projects on future disruptive technologies. During this period, FET Open will be part of the European Innovation Council pilot. The next submission deadline is on 16th May 2018.

Examples of the highly ambitious targets of the successful FET-Open proposals include a super-resolution microscope in a microfluidic chip smaller than a coin, a novel GPS-free positioning technology, the non-invasive imaging of biochemical processes in the human body, and building a 3D muscle on a chip.

FET-Open Research and Innovation Actions

B2B aims to generate a first-of-a-kind 3D model of spontaneous breast cancer metastasis to the bone to dissect the complexity of the metastatic process and empower high-throughput drug screening in a physiological context. This technology will transcend the limitations of current in vitro technologies, enabling physiological tissue-level complexity with organoids comprising several million cells. Coordinator: Consiglio Nazionale Delle Ricerche, Italy

BionicVEST will develop the first system to electrically reproduce linear accelerations in the otolith organ by stimulating their neural ends. It will demonstrate the safety of a vestibular implant for humans and determine its efficacy in restoring vestibular function. Coordinator: Fundacion Canaria De Investigacionsanitaria (FUNCANIS), Spain

BioWings proposes to solve the deadlock associated with the slow progress in the development of biocompatible actuator materials through the implementation of a completely new class of smart actuating materials to be integrated in biocompatible Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) – the key components of biomedical systems, enabling miniaturised devices with diagnostic, prognostic and therapeutic functionalities. Coordinator: Danmarks Tekniske Universitet, Denmark

CHIRONenvisions spin wave computing to complement and eventually replace CMOS in future microelectronics, in response to the future miniaturisation of electronic circuits following Moore’s law that will require the introduction of increasingly disruptive technologies to limit power consumption and optimise performance per circuit area. Coordinator: Interuniversitair Micro-Electronica Centrum, Belgium

CyGenTiG aims to build and demonstrate a technology for controlling the development of engineered tissues by optogenetics and closed-loop, self-correcting control. The core technology combines machine vision and computer modelling with optical feedback, through which the computer can alter the behaviour of precisely those cells that need to be stimulated/inhibited, for the tissue to develop toward the planned template. Coordinator: Wageningen University, The Netherlands

evFOUNDRY will develop the first technology for rigorous and reproducible large-scale production of quality-compliant Extracellular micro and nano-vesicles (EVs) from biological fluids, outperforming the current yields by orders of magnitude. This will provide the step change to achieve fundamental understanding, consistent exploration of EV (nano)technology, large clinical trials and regulatory initiatives, paving the way to definitive EV technological and medical translation and beyond. Coordinator: Consorzio Interuniversitario Per Lo Sviluppo Dei Sistemi A Grande InterfasE, Italy

EVO-NANO will work towards the creation of an integrated cross-disciplinary platform for the artificial evolution and assessment of nanoparticle-based drug delivery systems. Nanoparticles (NP) are increasingly being studied in cancer research for their ability to improve diagnosis accuracy and/or deliver tailored treatments directly to tumours. This project will create an entirely novel NP design platform for new cancer treatments, capable of autonomously evolving both innovative and adaptive solutions. Coordinator: Univerzitet u Novom Sadu, Poljoprivredni fakultet Novi Sad, Serbia

H-Reality will bring the computer touch-screen into the third dimension so that swipe gestures will be augmented with instinctive rotational gestures, allowing intuitive manipulation of 3D data sets and strolling about the desktop as a virtual landscape of icons, apps and files. H-Reality will transform online interactions; dangerous machinery will be operated virtually from the safety of the home, and surgeons will hone their skills on thin air. Coordinator: The University Of Birmingham, United Kingdom

HARMoNIC targets at solutions related to water utilization for significant enhancement in efficiency of thermal power generation and water harvesting to reduce the shortfall in global fresh water supply. Coordinator: Eidgenoessische Technische Hochschule Zuerich, Switzerland

HyPhOE aims to establish a revolutionary symbiosis between photosynthetic organisms and technology, and to rethink and re-establish the concept of green technology. Photosynthetic organisms are intelligent, with unique functions and capabilities, being able to harvest solar energy, synthesize food, and sequester pollutants. The ultimate goal of HyPhOE is to develop advanced bio-hybrid systems based on photosynthetic organisms and smart materials and devices. Coordinator: Linkopings Universitet, Sweden

LEAF-2Daims at the development of a novel nano-manufacturing technology based on laser transfer techniques, which will enable the rapid, intact transfer and engineering of 2D stacks and heterostructures for optoelectronic, photonic and organic electronic devices. The implementation of the proposed technology will offer a chemical- and defect -free transfer of 2D monolayers with high precision. Coordinator: National Technical University Of Athens - NTUA, Greece

MAGNIFY's ultimate goal is to design and realize a new generation of artificial muscles for robotic systems, characterized by high force-to-weight ratio, high flexibility, fast reacting properties, and intrinsic rigidity tuning. The project will use billions of artificial molecular machines, organized in polymer electrospun nanofibers and controlled by electrical stimuli, to realize an artificial macroscopic muscle. Coordinator: Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, The Netherlands

MS SPIDOC will challenge the wealth of data required for high resolution structural studies by developing a native mass spectrometry (MS) system for sample delivery, named X-MS-I. This will speed up the analysis time tremendously. Moreover, the system features low sample consumption and a controlled low background easing pattern identification. Coordinator: Heinrich-Pette Institut Leibniz Institut Fuer Experimentelle Virologie, Germany

MyoChip will build a 3D human skeletal muscle irrigated by vasculature and innervated by neurons. The reconstituted 3D muscle will mirror the architecture and function found in vivo, with potential in numerous applications including but not limited to research on muscle building and aging, drug testing and screening, as well as prosthetics and biorobotics. Coordinator: Instituto De Medicina Molecular, Portugal

NanoTBTech's goal is to develop a 2-D thermal bioimaging technology featuring sub-microscale resolution, based on nanothermometers and heater-thermometer nanostructures. In the long-term, this technology would have a broad impact on non-invasive clinical imaging and theranostics, as for example the real-time control of thermal therapies, making them harmless for the patient. Coordinator: Universidade De Aveiro, Portugal

NICI's ambition is to lay the foundations of a new area of research: the study of human biology using non-invasive chemistry imaging. By advancing MRI to detect metabolic biomarkers and by discovering powerful new MRI-visible biomarkers, a non-invasive technology can be developed for dynamically mapping biochemical processes in the whole human body. Coordinator: Universitair Medisch Centrum Utrecht, The Netherlands

NEWTON-g proposes a radical change of paradigm for gravimetry to overcome limitations related to high cost and operating features associated with current instrumentation by developing a field-compatible gravity imager able to real-time monitor the evolution of the subsurface mass changes through continuous images of the gravity field. Coordinator: Istituto Nazionale Di Geofisica E Vulcanologia, Italy

Pan3DP has the ambition to develop an innovative bioprinting approach for generating pancreatic tissue. The project will not only drive major technological advances in tissue-engineering and bioprinting, but will also open radically new possibilities in medicine, allowing to study pancreatic diseases ex vivo in fabricated tissue, to develop new drugs, and, possibly to facilitate the replacement of injured or diseased tissue. Coordinator: Max-Delbruck-Centrum Fur Molekularemedizin, Germany

PIEDMONS addresses breakthrough innovations for the design and manufacturing of affordable new generation quantum devices. The project aims at designing, implementing, experimenting and finding first applications for the basic building blocks of future quantum computers. The project will establish the baseline of new scientific and technological research and future uses, like GPS-free positioning, portable atomic clocks, quantum cryptography and security. Coordinator: Infineon Technologies Austria AG, Austria

PROCHIP's goal is to build a high-throughput super-resolution microscope in a microfluidic chip smaller than a coin. With this device the project will provide high resolution imaging of hundreds of cells at the diffraction limit and beyond, with minimal photo-toxicity. High-throughput data on chromatin distribution in hundreds of samples will be generated, allowing to decipher the pathogenic function of tumour heterogeneities in tumour progression. Coordinator: Consiglio Nazionale Delle Ricerche, Italy

Q-MIC aims at developing a new on-chip differential interference contrast microscope based on an unconventional birefringence lens-free configuration, the latest quantum sources and single-photon image sensors. This unique combination of features will allow, on the one hand, the first demonstration of a practical quantum device for imaging, while providing, on the other hand, a platform for fundamentally new lines of research in quantum metrology, including the interaction of quantum states and bio-species. Coordinator: Fundacio Institut De Ciencies Fotoniques, Spain

SENSITIVE proposes the development of a multimodal microscopy platform that will allow sensing of Raman and scattering properties at the organ level, in order to identify molecular and structural fingerprints of early stage disease in the gastrointestinal tract, in response to the currently lacking imaging method that could detect tissue changes that facilitate or predict tumour development at an early stage. Coordinator: Idryma Iatroviologikon Ereunon Akademias Athinon, Greece